Introduction

Over the past few years there has been a definite shift in the way people use computers. As notebooks have become more powerful and more affordable, many business users and consumers have chosen to adopt laptops instead of desktops. The advantages of a notebook have always been clear, but the price premium over a desktop system, coupled with the performance compromise put most users off. These days though, there's very little (bar gaming) that you can't do with a notebook, making them very attractive to computer users. However, there are many things that you need to consider before deciding to start using a notebook as your main computer.

If you use a computer at work and at home, the biggest advantage that a notebook brings to the table is that you'll always have everything you need with you. You'll never need to remember to bring home documents from your work PC or vice versa, because the machine you use at home is the same one you use at work. Of course it also means that if you, say, leave your laptop on a train, or at a petrol garage, you've lost all your important data. Luckily, it appears that you need to work for MI5 in order to be that careless with your notebook.

There are, however, a few things that you need to consider before jumping on the notebook bandwagon. Becoming an efficient notebook user isn't hard, but you will need a few choice tools and peripherals to get the most out of your mobile computer at work, at home and on the move.